Articles

SXSW 2012 Recap: Part Two

By Editors

For our second day of SXSW redux, we're covering our favorite panels, food, and various other accessories to the SXSW experience. Check out our thoughts on the best music we heard here.

Best Panel
Working with Epitonic, it was an obvious choice to head over to The Unspoken Code of the Music Blogosphere. Here, Bill and I were lucky enough to see Leslie Madill from Ninja Tune Records, David Greenwald from Rawkblog, and Christopher Bavitz from Harvard Law School
all speak on the intricacies of the world of music blogs. It was
interesting, informative and opened my eyes to some things we’ll
hopefully be taking advantage of in the future. -- Patrick Van Wagoner

Patrick said it all. The Unspoken Code of the Music Blogosphere
shed some light on some reputable music bloggers/press-based
professionals and their approaches to music blogging. A lot of relevant
stuff, especially with this here Epitonic thingy. -- Bill Ross

I was excited to attend a number of panels aimed at publicity and media strategies. Publicity in the Digital Era included an all-star line-up of PR professionals, including Lucy Robinson (Dead Oceans/Jagjaguwar/Secretly Canadian), Heathcliff Berru (Life Or Death PR & Management), Matt Hanks (Shore Fire Media), and Daniel Gill (Force Field PR). Just being in the same room as these folks was enough for this aspiring publicist! -- Cristina Mendoza

I was sitting in the panel How to Make a Great Record when I realized none of the ideas were new. Now why haven't I made one yet? I went across the hall to Justin Sinkovich's panel Music Industry in Higher Education, where we heard from a few schools on their styles of teaching about the music industry. I had a chance to speak personally with Yvonne Maclean of Fontys Academy of Creative Industries in Tilburg, The Netherlands about her school, as well as her involvement in Roadburn Festival, a mecca of metal that takes place in Tilburg in mid-April. It's now my goal to make it to Roadburn in the next two years. -- Parker Langvardt

Random EncountersAfter seeing Paula & Karol at a Filter party, I headed over to Red Eyed Fly to see Yellow Ostrich. While I was there, I had to pee (I had to pee at a lot of places) and I happened to meet both the drummer and guitarist for Paula & Karol in the bathroom. We introduced ourselves and exchanged business cards, and I made plans to see them later that night at the Velveeta Room. -- Patrick Van Wagoner

SXSW was a week of random encounters as-yet unparalleled in my lifetime. I had just separated from the group of people I dined with at Stubb’s on Wednesday when I ran into Peelander Yellow of the “Japanese Action Comic Punk” band Peelander Z, who I talked to about the BrooklynVegan theme song they improvised on camera at CMJ 2011. On Thursday I spotted Peelander Z’s van in a traffic jam and got another chance at a brief conversation. They also showed up at the Polyvinyl showcase at Emo’s East, but we didn’t get a chance to talk.

After my second Peelander Z encounter, I ran into satirical presidential candidate Vermin Supreme, who has advocated for a fascist dental program as well as the implementation of ponies as a mandatory federal ID program. Check him out on YouTube and keep an eye out for his upcoming tour dates.

Before Zechs Marquise played at the Sargent House showcase, I ran into the rapper who is put into slow-motion in the middle of the video for Zech's video "Everlasting Beacon of Light." It turns out his name is Mr. Crazy, and is part of the El Paso, Texas rap group Lower Valley Tres. -- Parker Langvardt

Heard on the Street
“Tycho is the music I listen to when I’m writing in my diary. It’s my diary-writing music.” -- Slurring man at the Ghostly Internationalshowcase

“All I wanna do is ride dirty. I’ve never ridden dirty before. Who do I
go to to ride dirty? Can Juggalos ride dirty? That’s my question. Do you
by chance know anything about riding dirty?” -- Bill Ross discovering the wonderful world of urban slang on E. 6th.

“You know where ICP is playing? You down with the clown?” -- A group of Juggalos to the BrooklynVegan staff.
(For the record, I am so down. Pass the facepaint and Faygo, we’re ridin’ dirty. -- Parker Langvardt)

Best FoodI couldn’t help but spend the money to try as many different places as possible. Though I left broke, I also left satisfied. The buffalo meatloaf with roasted veggiesfrom Moonshine were tough to beat, but I’m a breakfast person and really enjoyed theShack Tacos from Taco Shack on 4th and Brazos. I know, I know, it’s a chain, but they were awesome and I didn’t have time to make it to Juan In A Million, so lay off. -- Patrick Van Wagoner

Gastropubs are easily one of my favorite things about the perpetually expanding food scene in Chicago, so of course a gastropub in the ATX would win me over right away! Enter Haddington’s. Not only was the cocktail and beer list extensive and incredibly impressive, but the food was as filling as it was delicious. Big ups to manager Chris for giving us our fill of small plates and entrees to try out! -- Cristina Mendoza

Koriente is tiny place off of Red River and 7th. It is super cheap andhealthy Asian-fusion food. I, as usual, had the seared tuna with avocado over greens and a giant smoked salmon roll with a beer for about twenty bucks, right in the epicenter of the festival with no wait and felt energized after -- a key element to any meal down there. -- Justin Sinkovich

Best Food Truck
What’s better than food truck tacos? Korean BBQ tacos from
Chi’Lantro, my friend. Slathered in kimchi sauce and Sriracha, these
babies make my mouth water just thinking about them again. -- Cristina Mendoza

Chi’Lantro was great, though it would have been better if I hadn’t
showed up at the same time as the bros from a particular cable
television channel. All I’ll say is that they can consider themselves video-bombed! I enjoyed some cheese ravioli on Saturday from Regal Ravioli, where I
received some motherly sympathy for my lost voice, which led me to
purchase a delicious hibiscus iced tea. -- Parker Langvardt

Favorite BeverageSince I’m a bit of a beer snob, I was constantly scouting out some of the best craft brews Austin has to offer. My favorite of the week was definitely Circle Brewing Company’s Epic -- with a taste that is as unique as it is pleasantly hoppy, it’s a must-try! -- Cristina Mendoza

Shh...this actually happened the day after SXSW. Far and away the best beer I had in Austin was Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewery in Healdsburg, California. I’m a sucker for IPAs and this was one of the best I’ve had thus far. Super hoppy, tons of flavor, and the kegs were ice cold. I want one right meow. (P.S. I’m also being told from someone that Lone Star hit the spot. I'm not entirely sure what spot that was though.) -- Patrick Van Wagoner

We would decompress in The DriskillHotel -- in the thick of the bars on 6th street, but a nice, tasteful, and original luxury hotel. It was still pretty chaotic there, but we found a satellite bar that would serve a good red wine. I believe it was a Pinot Noir. You could sit in the lobby outside of the chaos of the main bar and catch up with a friend and rest your feet and ears for a bit. It’s worth noting we coined the phrase “Punitive Noir” on this trip, unrelated to The Driskill. -- Justin Sinkovich

Though it was offered for free in limited quantities at Hotel Vegas during the BrooklynVegan day shows, Omer Traditional Blond is a quality Belgian pale ale. Its 8% alcohol content couldn't be sensed by taste, though it was filling. -- Parker Langvardt